What's in the grab bag? I have a liferaft with all the goodies already in it - If i wasn't or couldn't launch the liferaft, stepping off the mast carrying a bag with exactly what in it? or am I missing something?
Ian, I'm sure someone will give you a full soup-to-syllabub list of what SHOULD be in there, but one thing I keep in mine is a spare pair of glasses. I can't imagine making the trip from boat via water to raft and keeping my specs on, so rather than be demi-blind when awaiting the sky hook, a pair of grab bag glasses should help.
I specified my SOLAS equipped liferaft, to have the additional SOLAS items separated in a waterproof grab bag for two reasons.
1 Some of the items may be needed without having deployed the liferaft i.e.
Additional Flares / Smokes
Additional first aid kit (there is some stuff in there that God forbid you may need, that you will not find in any standard yacht-kit)
Thermal bags
Pouches of water
Spare drogue
Heliograph
Whistle
Spare radar reflector
Plus some other stuff.......
2. Dated items can be replaced without recourse to the lifeboat service station, and all that entai£s.
Then of course you need a personal grab-bag for...
H/H VHF
Passports / Documents / Money
Personal Medication
Chart
H/B Compass
More sea-sick pills
Choccy Bars
Then in your other arm you can grab the cannister of yacht flares that you haven't set off already.
And in the other grab the spare water can from the bottom of the cockpit locker.
Clearly this life-raft grab bag scenario is not aimed at the single hander then.....
I know we all need to ensure that safety systems and emergency plans are well thought out but has any body actually practiced abandoning ship say into the dinghy,doing all the things you know you should?
We practice MOB (fender/bucket) at the begining of each season but have never run thro' a mock abandonment.
And while thinking of this just how many people are plucked from rafts in uk waters each year,any ideas?